Tag Archives: retailers

How Can Retailers Avoid Consumer Class Actions and Government Investigations Over State Sales Tax?

Consumer class actions regarding the over-collection of state sales tax continue to be a thorn in the side of retailers.  While the amounts of tax collected may be individually small, claims asserted on behalf of a class can expose large retailers to potentially millions of dollars in liability and, in some cases, investigatory action by state attorneys general under state consumer protection acts.

The types of tax at issue have included sales tax on computer hardware service contracts,… More

Several National Retailers Receive Requests for Information from New York Attorney General On Practice of “On-Call Shifts”

In what must have been a bad start to the day, more than 12 of the nation’s retailers recently received requests for information from the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman inquiring into their use of “on-call shifts.” The AG’s letter explains that “on-call shifts” require employees” to call in to work just a few hours in advance, or the night before, to determine whether the worker needs to appear for work that day or the next.” If the employee is not needed,… More